The goal of the project was to create digital solutions that favors the wellbeing and health of women. In this case, the focus was on the urban mobility issue with gender perspective and coming across the well-known problem of misogynistic violence in the streets. In order to carry out the project we reduced the target to women between 18 and 30 years old.

After carring out some desk research and several interviews we found out that:

- 92% of women in Spain feel frightened sometime in their day because they are walking alone in the streets.

- Most of them use accompaniment mechanisms to feel safer.

- There is a sudden change of sensations, going from a "safe state of mind" to an "alert and tension state".

What we took into account to create Wacha:

- Accompaniment as a method to generate a sense of safety.

- Not recurring to fear, instead provide calm and tranquility.

- Not distracting the user from her environment forcing her to look at a screen.

We wanted the user, in the best case, to spend the lest time possible looking at a screen so to focus on her surroundings. Because of that Wacha can be used with the headphones buttons. Nonetheless Wacha doesn't require headphones or music reproduction in order to work and provide company.

Basing of the previous parameters when we started designing Wacha we determined the following:

- An accesible "panic button" at all times, trying to not give the sensations that something bad is going to happen to the user.

- Music as an element that creates a safe space, reduces anxiety and tension. We wanted to maintain the "party vibes" as long as we could on the way home.

- Taking the OK status checks into something more playful so the user doesn't feel controlled. Here we birthed the idea of making music trivia questions related to what the user is listening to.

- Careful UX Writing to make sure our user feels comfortable using Wacha, that she feels less anxious and also to talk to her in her own codes and language.

- The I'm home message is something the users already send almost automatically when arriving home, we wanted to incorporate that in Wacha so the moment of arriving home is less cumbersome.

- Provide company not only in the way back home but also after arriving. We cannot ignore if one of our users has been through a violent situation, therefore, it is important to us to supply helpful information, counseling and advise in these cases.

Regarding its visual design we tried to give Wacha a distinct personality. We took inspiration in the 80's, having a clear intention to incorporate visual elements that reminds of street art, music and the nightlife. We came up with a vibrant color palette with the idea of integrating the party context our users are usually in. We also dared to customize a typeface and use it in moments of positive reinforcement, for example, when the user arrives home.

The common thread for the design of Wacha was focusing on reducing the anxiety and fear when going back home, not protecting, but accompanying. Many were the ideas that were left in the road to arrive at an app that accompanies in the way back home with music. The user enters the address where she wants to go, then selects a playlist and when she hits play, Wacha activates de accompaniment system.

In the way back home, while music is playing, Wacha will make questions related to what the user is listening to through the headphones. This is a OK status check on the user so we can know she is ok without putting a lot of attention to it. She can answer using the headphones buttons ( + and - volume) as well as the buttons on screen. 

The answer has a 10 seconds countdown, in case of not answering Wacha asks again. If the user still doesn't answer we proceed to contact the user via phone. If we fail to do so, we determine the location via GPS and contact the police authorities so they can go in her aid and make sure she is out of danger.

If a user has any problem she can contact with Wacha tapping the "panic button", which activates an accompaniment via phone call. Our assistant knows where the user is and can indicate her safe spots that she can go to if needed without stopping the accompaniment. This call also activates if the user presses the - volume button in the headphones for a couple of seconds.

We cannot ignore a situation where the physical and mental integrity of one of our users had been threatened. Therefore Wacha also supplies with information so the users can make the pertinent police reports o reach out to different organizations to get help if they had been through violent situations. 

When the user arrives home she can notify her last contacts which whom she has spoken sending a predetermined message. Here the idea was to facilitate the processes that the user has already incorporated in her routine when going home.

It was an interesting challenge, because when it came to finding a solution we found a couple barriers: designing for women being a man, creating a solution without focusing on fear and avoid a paternalistic perspective on the project. Listening to the users has been key to eliminate the gender bias regarding the problem and to take a more horizontal approach when coming up with the idea.

Conscious that the problem is far more complex and multidimensional, Wacha has been created with the objective of providing a better sense of security in women that walk back home alone at night. We try to reduce anxiety and fear in a hostile urban environment for women shifting the focus point to music and generating a safe and familiar state of mind. This is a small contribution to the fight against misogynistic violence in the streets and to the use and enjoyment of the public space by women.